BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

Lagos—The Rotary Club of Lagos, Palmgrove Estate District 9110 Chapter, has called on corporate organisations in the country to support the ongoing efforts to eradicate polio in the country.  Chairman of the club,  Dr. Lame Soyinka, made the call in Lagos at a seminar on “End Polio Now”.

Soyinka, who described polio virus as a contagious disease that could lead to permanent disability, asked every corporate organisation in the country to support the effort by the Rotary International in collaboration with government, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF to help Nigerian children, who are at risk of losing their lives to the endemic disease.

Polio virus, according to him, usually affects children between ages 0 and 5 and can be contracted from hand to mouth.

‘’Polio can maim or paralyze one from working; affects the respiratory system and eventually can lead to death. The effect is not only suffered by the patient but also shared by parents and other members of the family.

‘’To ensure complete eradication of the scourge, Rotary International in 1985, saw the need to initiate the coming together with international organizations like UNICEF, WHO and other related bodies to form global Eradicative Initiative, GEI to raise about $1.20million for the prosecution of the project.

“We can not do it alone, hence we invited UNICEF, WHO among others to form GEI. About 35,000 children then were affected. America and Europe were free from polio unlike Africa and Asia,” he said.

According to him, ‘’In year 2009, there were less than 1000 children in the whole world suffering from the disease and Nigeria had 46 out of the number.

‘’With the year 2012 target to end polio in the world, Rotary is raising about $355 million to compliment the $255million donated by Bill Gates to meet the target that will be used to eradicate polio this year,’’ he said, even as he commended the efforts of the Federal Government to eradicate the deadly disease.